Raytheon Co. announced it would expand its already strong $5 billion Texas presence by building a new factory. The company recently began work on a 200,000-square-foot facility that will support 500 jobs at its Space and Airborne Systems headquarters in McKinney, TX. Construction on the project will be completed by late 2020.

The current McKinney facility, at 2501 W. University Dr., specializes in the development of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. These include electro-optical manufacturing, and the production of high-energy laser systems. The new facility will be dedicated to high-tech manufacturing.

Ray Azevedo, with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, indicated at a press conference that the company’s presence is growing more rapidly in North Texas than elsewhere. He noted that the company employs 3,622 in Collin County.